Spain’s Battle of Brunei Bay, 1521 — pt. II
Retelling Magellan’s Southeast Asia
Some would assume Europeans expanded into Asia simply by bringing guns and steel where locals had never heard of such things. Yet the firearm is not a European invention, but an East Asian one. Naturally, Southeast Asians acquired gunpowder weapons before they met any Europeans. The following short story builds on historical details of the era to present an up-close perspective from fictional and semi-fictional participants in one of Spain’s earliest naval conflicts in Asia.
Continued from Part I (click here)
Part 10 of Retelling Magellan’s Southeast Asia
Which continues from Retelling Magellan’s Philippines
A cannon blast rolled through the air. As it faded, the drums and gongs of the fleet of proa ships fell silent too. Little Carvalinho stared across the water at the smoke rising from the Nao ships further out. His father was commanding one of those.
For a few moments there was only the sound of water lapping under the sides of the skiff floating in front of the platform Carvalinho was standing on. In the skiff, Captain Gomez of Espinosa turned to Captain Elcano next to him and said urgently,
“We need to find Barruti and Gonzalo…”
Behind Carvalinho in the house built on the water, Matthaois and Ioannis stood up readily. The captains ordered them to start packing. Another boom and rumble of cannonfire startled Carvalinho, but the men ignored it. The Griegos began to gather the copper, glass, and iron they’d been selling; the captains conversed anxiously about where in the Water City they would find the other two crewmembers.
“Niño, come with us,” Espinosa ordered Carvalinho. And the boy clambered from the platform into the boat.
“Marineros,” Espinosa addressed the Griegos, “be ready to leave in an hour.”
“Claro,” acknowledged one. “φεύγεις κιόλας” mumbled the other, something in their language.
The captains put their paddles to the water and Carvalinho the mestiço boy steadied himself against the side of the boat. The clang of gongs had resumed downriver, though not as intensely as before. The cannonfire continued: both the boom of mortars and the clap of pasamuro swivel guns. The river-dwellers of the Water City had begun to peek out of their windows or stand on the stoops of their stilt houses and peer downriver. The waterways between the stilts were still nearly empty of all other traffic besides the Spanish skiff. All the men and boys of Brunei’s sea empire were out on the water today…
Mabilis, a young Tagalog from Maynila, a “river-dweller,” had trained for this moment every day for months. Every day since stepping on the Raya Matu’s ship. Every day since watching Raya Matu Ake win a pair of swords from Ryukyu at a cockfight. Swords which the man had casually given to Mabilis like trinkets.
MABUHAY AKE!
MABUHAY MAYNILA!
MABUHAY AKE…
The chant carried on. Mabilis yelled along with the other gintubo and maharlika of Manila packed shoulder-to-shoulder, or shield-to-shoulder, along the deck of their Raya-Matu’s ship. In the approaching boat, Farangi eyes glared at them from hairy faces behind metal circles: shields shaped like gongs.
The Tagalogs threw their last javelins, then those with shields — tall black boards of rattan — shuffled to the front. Most of the low-class Gintubo armed themselves with spears, which were sturdier and probably sharper than the javelins. A lucky few gintubo owned swords that had either been made or bought in Maynila. And Mabilis was among those few, wearing a pair of swords from Ryukyu, one long and one short. Raya-Matu Ake had personally handed them to Mabilis on the day they’d met. And whether Mabilis had received them as a reward, or simply for standing next to Ake at the right time, they’d take that as a blessing.
The Maharlika kept up the war chant confidently and loudly. Gold rings jangled on their arms as they beat their shield or brandished their swords. Their blades were finely crafted and decorated kampilan and sanduko. Sea monsters bared their fangs on the carved pommels, gold glittered from the hilts, and their sharpened edges caught the sunlight.
Young Mabilis had trained in fighting every day the whole season. The crowd wasn’t about to spread out; this fight would be fought in the crowd so Mabilis had drawn the smaller blade. It was light, easy to twist and change direction. Unlike the Tagalog blade designs, this one had faint waves in the color of the metal, a rounded gold guard, and a smooth gold pommel. The youth’s hand flexed against the hilt with anticipation.
Something was knocking against the shields of the Tagalogs at the front. From behind, Mabilis could see spearheads and hooks and axeheads slashing and stabbing the air in front of them. Occasionally a shieldbearer would duck back or be knocked back. The Farangi were trying to climb onto the deck now. Someone fell suddenly and a rattan shield clattered to the deck; Mabilis guessed it was the arrows again.
A shoulder knocked Mabilis in the chest, not violently but suddenly. The whole mass of Tagalog warriors was pressing backwards and taking Mab with them like the tide. A few Farangi were on the deck, shoving shield-against-shield, shiny steel against black rattan. They struck out from behind their shields with straight swords.
The Ryukyu short blade was nearly pressed against Mab’s cheek, cool to the touch. It was all the swordbearer could do to keep stance and footing in the dense formation. Someone shoved from behind. Glancing back, Mabilis could see that the other Farangi boat had boarded. And now the Tagalog defenders were being squeezed together from both sides.
A gintubo yelled an unintelligible battlecry and jumped forward from next to Mabilis. Mabilis yelled too and suddenly the Ryukyu blade seemed to feel lighter. The young Tagalog pushed forward followed the braver one.
Two shieldbearers parted in front of them. A gleaming straight blade flashed towards them, followed by a second shorter one: this Farangi was fighting with sword and dagger, no shield. Mabilis’ brave kabayan parried the sword with their own and the dagger nearly struck Mabilis’ eye. The youth had already ducked and half-recovered before they’d even realized it. The sword flashed again straight and fast but Mabilis was watching the Farangi’s shoulders twist and twisted on the same beat, catching the sword with their own Ryukyu blade held vertically. The Farangi’s blade scraped past Mab’s face harmlessly. With their empty hand, Mabilis grabbed the Farangi’s shoulder, pulled, and kicked one foot forward.
The Farangi lost balance and awkwardly thumped their knee against the deck. Mabilis chopped downward at the man’s head. It clanged against the steel cone helmet. Then again, and a third time — the eager gintubo Mabilis was about to secure their first kill!
But then a Farangi shield slammed up into Mab’s chin, knocking their teeth together painfully. Next thing they knew, they were leaning back against several noisy warriors pulling them back behind black shields.
Mabilis blinked and looked around, then spit into their hand. Not a lot of blood. Their tongue wasn’t hurting yet so they probably hadn’t bitten it. But something cool was dripping off Mab’s face. After touching it, their hands were all red.
Before Mab could find the cut, they realized both their hands were empty. I dropped my sword! Their heart skipped, maybe from fear, maybe from embarrassment. The Tagalog’s eyes scanned the deck, but it was crowded with shuffling feet and boots. Salam would see it, I need Salam’s eyes… Mabilis breathed in, and then breathed in again almost without exhaling.
Someone grabbed Mab’s shoulder and yelled, “NASAAN ANG TALIM MO?!” WHERE IS YOUR BLADE? Then the man grabbed and shook the long sword still strapped on Mabilis’ back.
“AY!” Mabilis yelled out loud in relief and began to pull the sword. It took holding the sheath down with one hand and pulling the hilt up and over the shoulder with the other.
A shadow passed over the fight: the Farangi ship was overtaking the jyong ship with its full sails passing between them and the sun. Mabilis looked the other way towards the shore, the hill, the royal fort. Kota Batu was silent… not a single naga-cannon had fired. And only now did Mabilis realize that the welcoming fleet from Water Village had silenced their drums and gong. Where are they?
Mabilis finally worked the long Ryukyu blade out of its sheath and held it close and upright.
“HUMINTO!” called the Raya-Matu’s voice. STOP!
Mabilis looked around, confused. The blade weighed heavily.
“HUMINTO!” The Raya-Matu called again. Then, “PAGSUKO!” Surrender.
Metal was clanging against the deck. Bamboo was rattling. Swords and spears. Tagalogs lowered themselves to their knees all around the deck. Mabilis looked again at the Farangi ship and then at Kota Batu — well behind them now — and then to Raya-Matu Ake, who was not kneeling, but standing empty-handed. A Farangi stomped up to Mabilis.
“SUELTA LA ESPADA!” the Farangi barked with a hot breath. The man’s face was thickly bearded, their eyes were furious, and the brow of their steel helmet was scratched. Mabilis let the sword fall. And then realized that this Farangi with a sword and a bloody dagger was the same one he’d almost killed.
The man tucked the sword in its sheath, then grabbed Mabilis’ shirt, pulled, and swept a boot under the Tagalog’s feet. Mabilis thudded against the deck with a grunt. The Farangi stood vigilantly around the edge of the deck, weapons still drawn. One was moving among the defeated Tagalogs to tie all their wrists together with one rope. Raya-Matu Ake was leading a group of Farangi below deck…
note: Filipino and Malay languages have gender-neutral pronouns (i.e. Filipino “siya” for “he/she.” Narratives told from Malay perspectives in this work use singular “they.”
